Social ad platform RadiumOne continues to update its product line of data gathering apps as MediaPost's Laurie Sullivan reports on 're.Po.st'. The URL shortener aims to not only improve the sharing of links, a la Bit.ly, but it also "serves up in a dashboard as consumers share information about a specific product, which expresses interest." And then, those interests can be retargeted through online display advertising. Read more.

Moody Ad Server

On Ad Age, Cotton Delo reports that Microsoft has recently filed a patent for technology which allows for the serving of ads according to mood - no mood ring required. Delo explains, "The application further asserts that the advertising engine could have 'monetization value' to marketers, since it could ensure that ads aren't wasted on people who are temperamentally unsuited to them." And so if a consumer wasn't in the mood for a certain ad, it might require a "make mood" by the vendor or publisher (OK, made that last part up.). Read more.

Excoriating Excel

As a workflow tool for media pros, Excel long ago outlived its usefulness. Or so one might have hoped. Writing in ClickZ, Julian Baring says what's needed to finally eradicate the loathed (in programmatic media circles anyway) software is a commitment to standardization. "Ironically, the data-driven management and rising automation of online advertising has not yet been replicated within the proto-typical media agency's toolset." Read on.

New Ads in Skype

Skype is, arguably, among the most powerful social platforms out there. But there's nary a mention of "social" in Microsoft's announcement today about new ad offerings for the product. The new 300 x 250 "Conversation" unit appears during one-to-one audio calls on the Windows version of the client. "You’ll notice the Conversation Ads are presented on a clean, uncluttered canvas allowing your story to nicely complement the consumer interaction." Press release.

Making Targeting Data Work

On iMedia Connection, Rare Crowds CEO and former TRAFFIQ CPO Eric Picard prepares an opinion piece "to save targeted advertising" as he examines the consumer's and ad industry's interaction with first- and third-party targeting data. He writes, "Publishers and advertisers own the consumer relationship. Thus, they should be where the contact point for tracking permissions lives. Since we now have mechanisms for real-time sharing of inventory and data, I recommend that we use these to support the publisher and advertiser going forward. Third-party data providers should only interact with the consumer through the publisher or advertiser relationship. I'll explain how..." Read how.

Searching The Data

Using aggregate data from client campaigns, research from Marin Software says that the CPC's on Google declined 12% in Q1 2012. This follows similar findings in quarterly earnings reports where CPC's have slipped with waning demand - or have been adjusted lower as Google looks to drive clicks and improver the user experience - depending on what story you believe. Get whitepaper (pay with some PII).